Combined griddle, wok and grill cookware

ABSTRACT

Cookware combining two or three cooking sections in one unit. In the first four preferred embodiments, the three sections are a griddle section, a wok section, and a grill section. The griddle section is a flat plate. The wok section is a flat plate having an opening within which a wok may be removably retained. The grill section has bars, with open spaces between the bars. The griddle and wok sections are parts of a single flat plate, the grill section is generally coplanar with the flat plate, and the three sections form a generally rectangular or curvilinear shape. The fifth and sixth preferred embodiments of the invention are substantially the same as the first four embodiments, except that the fifth only includes a wok section and a griddle section, with no grill section, and the sixth only includes a wok section and a grill section, with no griddle section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cooking utensils and appliances with multiple surfaces for cooking food.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There have been numerous prior inventions that combine plural means for cooking food, but none that are equivalent to the present invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,846, issued on Oct. 9, 1973, to John S. Schantz, discloses a portable three-in-one deep fat fryer, griddle and barbeque combination, with an open top having a ledge supporting a deep fat fryer, a griddle, or a barbeque grate, but not all three at the same time. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it allows a wok and either a grill or a griddle, or both, to be used simultaneously.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,341, issued on Dec. 13, 1977, to John M. Panzarella, discloses a patio wok stove, that can be used to heat either a wok or a grill, but not both at the same time, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,945, issued on Mar. 2, 1993, to Donald C. Hennick, discloses a water cooled barbeque grill, with a grilling surface that may either be flat or else have a wok-like configuration. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it allows two or three cooking surfaces to be used simultaneously.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,452, issued on Feb. 13, 1996, to Erich J. Schlosser and James C. Stephen, discloses a cooking grate assembly for barbecue grills, including grill and griddle surfaces, but not an opening for a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,008, issued on Sep. 24, 1996, to Borden Jenkins, discloses a combination grill-wok barbecue, with a ring that can support either a grill or a wok over a heat source, but not both at the same time, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,154, issued on May 26, 1998, to Wolfgang Schroeter, Cliff Lilley and Steven Schwarz, discloses a gas barbecue assembly, with grill and griddle surfaces, but without a holder for a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,165, issued on Jul. 21, 1998, to Daniel T. Glenboski, Mark Cartellone and Stanley E. Grzywna, discloses a multi-purpose cooking apparatus, with grill and griddle surfaces, but no opening for a wok.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,361, issued on Nov. 24, 1998, to John T. Richter, discloses a combination grill and griddle surface, which is a sheet that is either rectangular or circular, with a grill section and a griddle section. There is no holder for a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,357, issued on Apr. 13, 1999, to Raymond Royer and Clifford Breaux, discloses a portable cooking system, in which food may be cooked either in a wok or on a circular grating, but not on both simultaneously, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,045, issued on Nov. 23, 1999, to Todd B. Housley, discloses a utensil supporting multiple cooking environments for preparing food, including a grill above compartments, but not including an opening for a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,431, issued on Nov. 14, 2000, to Joseph R. Tippmann and Vincent P. Tippmann, discloses a steam heated grill and griddle, but without a holder for a wok.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,047, issued on Jul. 31, 2001, to Robert F. Mosher, II et al., discloses a portable griddle stove with dual cooking surfaces, one flat and one ribbed, but no opening for a wok.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,092, issued on May 14, 2002, to Robert Grohs, discloses an electric grill with a flat surface, combined with a grillpan having a ribbed surface. The grill pan can slide back and forth over the flat surface. There is no wok holder, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,022, issued on Dec. 3, 2002, to Robert A. Shingler, discloses a portable outdoor cooker, which may be used with a wok or a grill, but not both simultaneously, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,175, issued on Nov. 11, 2003, to Robert T. Stephen, Adrian A. Bruno and J. Michael Alden, discloses a barbecue grill cooking surface assembly, having griddle and grate portions that may be used simultaneously, but not a wok holder, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 46,309, issued on Aug. 25, 1914, to Simon Binswanger, discloses a design for a broiler griddle, having flat and ribbed portions.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 151,448, issued on Oct. 14, 1948, to William Hallgarth, discloses a design for a frying pan, having flat and ribbed portions.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 326,029, issued on May 12, 1992, to Yuk L. Lok, discloses a design for a stove for wok cooking, but without a grill or griddle, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 409,041, issued on May 4, 1999, to Mario John Barker, discloses a design for an electric cooker, having flat and ribbed surfaces, but no opening suitable for holding a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 431,411, issued on Oct. 3, 2000, to Chung Yuan Chang, discloses a design for a circular electric grill, having flat and ribbed portions, but no opening suitable for holding a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Pat. No. Des. 441,250, issued on May 1, 2001, to Lung Wai Choi, discloses discloses a design for a rectangular electric grill, having flat and ribbed portions, but no opening suitable for holding a wok, as in the instant invention.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0025843, published on Oct. 4, 2001, to James William McClean, discloses cooking appliances having a recessed bowl portion that may be used as a wok, and a ribbed hotplate portion that may be used as a grill, but not three cooking surfaces that may be used simultaneously, nor a removable wok, as in the instant invention.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is cookware combining two or three cooking sections in one unit. In the first four preferred embodiments, the three sections are a griddle section, a wok section, and a grill section. The fifth preferred embodiment of the invention is substantially the same as the first four embodiments, except that it only includes a wok section and a griddle section, with no grill section. The sixth preferred embodiment of the invention is substantially the same as the first four embodiments, except that it only includes a wok section and a grill section, with no griddle section.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide cookware which conveniently combines the use of a wok with other cooking surfaces.

It is another object of the invention to provide cookware which conveniently combines the use of a wok with either a griddle or a grill, or both.

It is a further object of the invention to provide cookware with multiple cooking surfaces, which may be conveniently used outdoors.

Still another object of the invention is to provide cookware with multiple cooking surfaces, which may be safely used indoors, with appropriate precautions.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the griddle section in the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the wok section in the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the wok in the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the grill section in the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the third preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the fourth preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the fifth preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a front elevational sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention along line 9-9 in FIG. 6.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is cookware combining two or three cooking sections in one unit. In the first preferred embodiment, the three sections are a griddle section, a wok section, and a grill section.

FIG. 1 shows the griddle section 10, which is a flat plate having an upper surface suitable for cooking food such as Mongolian barbecue or Teppan-Yaki.

FIG. 2 shows the wok section 12, which is a flat plate having an opening 14 within which a wok may be removably retained. (A wok is a bowl-shaped cooking utensil commonly used in the preparation of Chinese food by stir frying. Woks are generally circular, and may have flat bottoms with rounded sides and one or two handles.) The opening is preferably circular, so that it will retain the sides of a conventionally shaped wok. A wok may be sold with the invention, or it may be purchased separately.

FIG. 3 shows a wok 16 that may be used in the wok section, having rounded side 18, a flat bottom 20, and a handle 22. (Alternatively, the wok may have a rounded bottom.)

FIG. 4 shown the grill section 24, preferably having parallel members or bars 26 joined at their ends by traverse members or bars 28. There are open spaces 30 between the bars. The parallel bars hold food that is being cooked (e.g., by barbecuing) while the openings allow the food to be in direct contact with fire or heat below the grill section.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the griddle and wok sections are parts of a single flat plate 32. The grill section is generally coplanar with the flat plate. The three sections form a generally rectangular shape, with each section adjoining the other two.

FIG. 6 shows a top view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention, which is the same as the first preferred embodiment, except that the griddle and grill sections are on opposite sides of the wok section.

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the third preferred embodiment of the invention, which is the same as the first and second preferred embodiments, except that the wok and grill sections are on opposite sides of the griddle section, and the three sections form a generally curvilinear shape, namely, a circle.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the fourth preferred embodiment of the invention, which is the same as the third preferred embodiment, except that the three sections form a different curvilinear shape, namely, a kidney shape.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the fifth preferred embodiment of the invention, which is substantially the same as the first four embodiments, except that it only includes a wok section and a griddle section, with no grill section.

FIG. 10 shown a top view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the invention, which is substantially the same as the first four embodiments, except that it only includes a wok section and a grill section, with no griddle section.

The flat plate comprising the griddle and wok sections, the members of the grill section, and the wok are preferably made of a ferrous metal, such as iron or steel. (The handle of the wok may be made of wood or another suitable material.) In addition to the shapes shown in the drawings, the sections may form any square, rectangular, circular, oval, kidney, polygonal, curvilinear, or other shape.

FIG. 11 is a front elevational sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention along line 9-9 in FIG. 6. (Substantially the same arrangement may be used for the other embodiments.) A common heat source 34, such as propane or other natural gas, is provided for all three sections 10, 12 and 24. Lines 36 carry the gas to burners 38 below each section. The whole apparatus is contained in housing 40 and supported on legs 42. The supply of fuel to each section is preferably controlled separately, as different temperatures may be required to cook food in each section. Alternatively, wood, charcoal or any other fuel, or electrical resistance heating, may be used. The invention is ideally suited for outdoor cooking. However, with sufficient ventilation and safeguards it can be installed in a dwelling house, restaurant or other building for indoor cooking.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A cooking appliance, comprising: a flat plate, having a griddle section with an upper surface suitable for cooking, and a wok section with an opening that is suitably dimensioned and configured for retaining a wok; and a grill section retained on a side of the flat plate, said grill section having members that are generally coplanar with the flat plate, with openings between the members, whereby food retained on the members may be put in contact with fire or heat passing through the openings.
 2. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, including a wok that is suitably dimensioned and configured to be removably retained in the opening in the wok section.
 3. The cooking appliance according to claim 2, including at least one heat source for the griddle section, the wok section, and the grill section.
 4. The cooking appliance according to claim 3, wherein the heat source may be separately controlled for each section.
 5. The cooking appliance according to claim 4, wherein the flat plate, the members of the grill, and the wok are principally made of ferrous metal.
 6. The cooking appliance according to claim 5, wherein the flat plate and the grill section form a generally rectangular shape.
 7. The cooking appliance according to claim 6, wherein the flat plate and the grill section form a generally curvilinear shape.
 8. A cooking appliance, comprising: a flat plate, having a griddle section with an upper surface suitable for cooking, and a wok section with an opening that is suitably dimensioned and configured for retaining a wok.
 9. The cooking appliance according to claim 8, including a wok that is suitably dimensioned and configured to be removably retained in the opening in the wok section.
 10. The cooking appliance according to claim 9, including at least one heat source for the griddle section and the wok section.
 11. The cooking appliance according to claim 10, wherein the heat source may be separately controlled for each section.
 12. The cooking appliance according to claim 11, wherein the flat plate and the wok are principally made of ferrous metal.
 13. The cooking appliance according to claim 12, wherein the flat plate has a generally rectangular shape.
 14. The cooking appliance according to claim 12, wherein the flat plate has a generally curvilinear shape.
 15. A cooking appliance, comprising: a wok section, that is a flat plate with an opening that is suitably dimensioned and configured for retaining a wok; and a grill section retained on a side of the flat plate, said grill section having members that are generally coplanar with the flat plate, with openings between the members, whereby food retained on the members may be put in contact with fire or heat passing through the openings.
 16. The cooking appliance according to claim 15, including a wok that is suitably dimensioned and configured to be removably retained in the opening in the wok section.
 17. The cooking appliance according to claim 16, including at least one heat source for the wok section and the grill section.
 18. The cooking appliance according to claim 17, wherein the heat source may be separately controlled for each section.
 19. The cooking appliance according to claim 18, wherein: the flat plate, the members of the grill, and the wok are principally made of ferrous metal; and the flat plate and the grill section form a generally rectangular shape.
 20. The cooking appliance according to claim 18, wherein: the flat plate, the members of the grill, and the wok are principally made of ferrous metal; and the flat plate and the grill section form a generally curvilinear shape. 